Bleach Drabble (245-248)
ARGH this storyboard assignment is kicking my ass. I would probably have a lot more written this weekend otherwise. -_-;;
245.
Title: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Character/s: YoruichixSoi Fong (ish)
Word Count: 574
Warning/s: Spoilers for the Soul Society arc.
Summary: Yoruichi doesn’t know what to say.
Dedication: John- For being my bitch in the kitchen and makin’ me paaaancakes. I RUB YOU. Alex, your yuri is coming. Kuukaku is a bit harder. -_-;;
A/N: A little sappy? Maybe. I’m not good with Yuri, obviously. O.o
What do you say after a hundred years gone?
Yoruichi looks at the girl she left behind more than a century ago and doesn’t know what to say now that everything is quiet between them. Before, when it had only been fighting and posturing and big words, she’d known how to respond to each of Soi Fong’s little barbs, her arrogance and her anger, her betrayal.
But there’s something infinitely more complicated in trying to understand someone instead of kill them, and as the two of them sit here in silence and lick the wounds from their previous fight, neither of them seems to know what to do next.
Yoruichi watches Soi Fong bandage her own arm, head bent downward, glaring helplessly as the white cloth wraps around bruised and broken skin, her movements jerky and just the slightest bit unsure.
And Yoruichi finds herself searching her mind for something to say, something that will explain why she left without a word or warning, why she hadn’t returned, why she’d given up everything the moment Kisuke had asked her to.
But words don’t come that easily, and she finds herself longing for the time long past, when words were no longer needed between the two of them, when she could just reach out with a hand and touch Soi Fong’s shoulder, when she could smile and kiss the other woman’s forehead and have those gestures communicate everything she ever wanted to say.
But they’re a hundred years beyond that now, and Yoruichi knows she’s at least that many years late in saying what she should’ve said before she’d disappeared without a word, without a trace.
She can’t help but wish that they could go back, just like that, to those soft touches and fond smiles, when the only voices they’d used were secret sighs and phantom whispers in each other’s ears and nothing else was needed to tell Soi Fong what she was thinking or how she felt.
It’s ridiculous because she feels like she’s suddenly a child all over again, despite her age, standing here staring while her former subordinate silently wraps herself in strips of white, neither of them able to say what they feel because they’re a hundred years too late, ten thousand invisible steps behind each other both at the same time.
So she stands silently by and watches Soi Fong wrap her arm, awkward and angry as she grips the end of the bandage between her teeth and tries to tie it off, pulling too fast and too hard and making the top wrench tightly while the bottom begins to unravel.
Suddenly she finds herself by the younger shinigami’s side, an instinctual step forward before she knows what she’s doing. She grasps the end of the bandage in one hand and looks into Soi Fong’s startled eyes before smiling and shaking her head at her former subordinate, allowing herself to chuckle a little at the absurdity of it all.
“Here. Let me.”
Soi Fong blinks at her and then frowns, looking purposefully away as two pink spots blossom unbidden on her pale cheeks.
“…very well.”
Yoruichi wraps the bandage for the younger woman gently, her fingertips working quickly and neatly, pausing to linger ever so slightly on bruised white skin as she finishes, saying everything she can in that one tentative touch.
When she feels Soi Fong shudder almost imperceptibly in response, she smiles to herself.
It’s a start.
END
246.
Title: Shafted
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Character/s: Shuuhei, Kira, Hinamori, Soi Fong
Word Count: 843
Warning/s: Spoilers for the Soul Society arc
Summary: The shafted three brood.
Dedication: lune_etsoleil- I totally owe you don’t I? But duuude, give me a specific request because I seriously don’t know what you’d want. Or c’mon, at least a list of favorites. XD
A/N: Argh I started out with the intention of writing something funny, but all I got was weird serious stuff and obviously, I SUCK at this. -_-;;
They get together sometimes, just when they’re too sad or too tired or too fed up with everything to get anything else done.
They get together and they sit and they don’t really talk, sipping drinks and sighing back and forth between one another, those soft sounds all the understanding and sympathy they need.
Kira’s not allowed to have alcohol anymore, and Shuuhei makes sure his kouhai remembers that, giving him milk or juice or warm cocoa to drink instead.
Hinamori cries sometimes, and Hisagi brings two handkerchiefs incase she does, one for her to wipe her eyes with and one for her to blow her nose on, because using the same one for both is kind of gross.
He doesn’t know why, but taking care of his two former underclassmen does something to ease his own pain. It might be petty, but he thinks it’s because he knows for certain that they are suffering more than he is, knows that despite Kaname’s betrayal, Tousen was not a captain who deliberately sought his subordinates’ heartstrings and tangled them around his own designs.
Shuuhei supposes that Ichimaru and Aizen were.
All in all, the three of them make a rather pathetic sight, sitting together sipping their drinks and sighing to themselves because they just don’t know what else to do.
No one else knows what to do either.
There’s something about trying to help that feels muted and unsuccessful, though Iba has tried, though Renji has tried, though even Ikkaku has put in an attempt or two.
But it falls flat in the face of everything, because what matters in the end is the fact that none of their captains betrayed them.
Stern Komamura-taichou, cold Kuchiki-taichou, fearsome Zaraki-taichou-though they may not seem to be, are infinitely kinder than smiling Ichimaru-taichou, than gentle Aizen-taichou and honorable Tousen-taichou.
They have not left their subordinates behind.
And so no one else can really understand them but themselves, and Kira and Shuuhei and Hinamori get together sometimes and sit in silence, thinking beside one another and sighing because there’s nothing left to say.
They feel as though no one else understands them.
And then one day Soi Fong-taichou storms into their circle of misery and kicks over Kira’s cocoa, telling him to grow a backbone. She scowls at Hinamori to cease her incessant crying and demands that Shuuhei stop coddling the both of them simply because it makes him feel better.
Hisagi frowns back and begs her pardon, telling her that she can’t possibly understand what they’ve been through and that she shouldn’t be so harsh on any of them.
Her eyes glint dangerously and he braces himself to be attacked by the second division leader while Kira and Hinamori look on with wide, frightened eyes.
“My leader left me once too.”
Shuuhei blinks when the small captain says that, her eyes looking away from the group for a brief moment. “I understand.”
And then they remember that she does.
Another silence falls over the group and Soi Fong scoffs before sitting down at their epicenter, cross-legged and frowning at the lot of them.
And for a moment afterwards, Hinamori is too puzzled to sniff and Kira is too bewildered to sigh.
Even Shuuhei is too busy anticipating to pay either of them very much attention.
After a beat, Soi Fong lets out a little breath and says, “Become stronger. Learn to believe in yourselves. That’s all you can do.”
Her tone is clipped and cool, though Shuuhei senses something below the surface there that makes him believe her simple solution more than any of the numerous others he’s heard from others over the past few weeks.
A minute ticks by and then tentatively, Kira raises a hand and begins to ask, “But how do...”
“Just do it,” the captain responds, resting her chin in the palm of one hand and regarding the blonde calmly.
“But…but… Soi Fong-taichou’s leader came back,” Hinamori accuses softly, torn between anger and more tears.
The other girl quirks a brow, expression fathomless. “Then even more, should you all ready yourselves. In case yours do too.”
The multitude of implications suggested by that statement is not lost on any of them.
It makes for a heavier, unhappier atmosphere, but each of the three vice-captains are thinking now of what the possibility of that day may one day mean for all of them.
Soi Fong watches them all for a moment longer, before she snorts derisively to herself before disappearing from sight. “That day will come,” are the final words she leaves them with.
And then she is gone in a gust of wind, leaving the three of them sitting there, alone and silent once again.
After a moment, Shuuhei stands and prepares to leave.
“S-senpai? Where are you going?” Kira asks, nervously.
The ninth division vice-captain pauses to take a deep breath, looking at the sky. “To train.”
He leaves without looking back, and hopes that one day soon, the other two will be able to join him.
They have much to prepare for.
END
247.
Title: Stolen
Rating: PG
Pairing/Character/s: Matsumoto, Hitsugaya (MatsumotoxHitsugaya-ish, but mostly playful)
Word Count: 436
Warning/s: No spoilers, but um, a sort-of-but-not-really shota-ish situation? O.o
Summary: Matsumoto steals something from Toushirou.
Dedication: lune_etsoleil again because LOOK AT THE PRETTY LAYOUT. ^^
A/N: I will probably forever be indebted to the likes of antiparallel and lune_etsoleil, but seriously, I sell my soul for icons, layouts, and fanart. I ARE A WHORE.
She laughs at him when he flushes slightly and tells her very matter-of-factly that no, he’s never been kissed before, but really, what does that have to do with anything in the first place?
She grins at him and simply replies that it explains everything. He thinks that he resents whatever she’s implying when she says that, though he’s not sure what it is, exactly.
So he responds by telling her that not everyone has the sort of time to go around seeking that kind of thing out, and what’s the big deal anyway? It looks messy and awkward, and on top of all of that, possibly bad-tasting and slobberful.
Her eyes glint as he says that and she rests one hand on her hip, looking down at him like she knows something he doesn’t know. It immediately sets him on edge, because whenever she gets that look on her face it means something will inevitably happen to him.
She bends down then, so that they’re eye to eye, that insufferable expression still on her face, that hand still on her hip. “Ne, taichou,” she starts, obviously highly amused by his paranoia.
“…what?” he asks, both wary and resentful of her uncalled-for smugness at the same time.
“I’m gonna steal it then, ‘kay?”
He blinks, but before he can demand what she wants to steal exactly, she’s leaning forward and touching her lips to his.
They’re there and gone again in less than a breath, just an infinitesimal touch shared between the two of them. But even still, it’s enough to make his mind completely shut off.
When she pulls back, she bursts out laughing at his expression, unable to help herself when she reaches forward to pinch his cheeks and ruffle his hair, exclaiming, “Ah, taichou is so cute!” to herself before sauntering off, hips swaying, hair flowing and eyes sparkling-all things he doesn’t remember ever noticing before.
He doesn’t even have the ability to muster up an indignant reply for the ‘cute’ crack.
And as she disappears around the corner of the corridor, he suddenly remembers to shut his gaping mouth, closing it with a snap as he feels his cheeks turning bright red.
He doesn’t know whether he’s more outraged or bewildered, but as he stands there alone in the division headquarters hallway, he puts one hand over his much abused mouth and furrows his brow thoughtfully.
He’ll definitely get her back for that later, but for now, he thinks he’s at least mature enough to admit that he might have been a little wrong.
It wasn’t all that bad-tasting after all.
END
248.
Title: For Your Viewing Pleasure
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Character/s: KyourakuxUkitake (ish)
Word Count: 522
Warning/s: No real spoilers, just some for the Kyouraku and Ukitake back story.
Summary: Academy days fic- Kyouraku and Ukitake cut class.
Dedication: another request by lune_etsoleil that I just can’t say no to. XD KyoxUki LURVE. <3
A/N: Kyouraku is suave. But also an idiot. And that’s why I love him. ^^y
“He’ll catch us!”
“Yama-jii? He’s probably fallen asleep in his chair,” Kyouraku replies calmly, smiling that charm-filled seducer smile of his at Ukitake as he does. Jyuushirou thinks it’s an unfair use of superior weapons, and sighing in a long-suffering manner, continues to follow Shunsui anyway.
“We shouldn’t be skipping class,’ he adds just for adding’s sake, voice low and worried as he looks over his shoulder. “What kind of example are we setting for the first-years?”
“The same example the third-years set for us,” Shunsui responds simply. “Now Jyuu-chan, no harm done, really, right? You know the stuff we were gonna learn today backwards and forwards already, I’ll bet.”
Ukitake does, but that isn’t the point. Well, not really. They are light years ahead of the rest of their class most of the time, but that’s still no excuse to cut lessons simply because they already know them.
Shunsui grins and raps him gently on the head. “Stay with me, na, Jyuu-chan? Almost there, I promise.”
Jyuushirou frowns and holds the spot on the crown of his head where his friend hit, though it doesn’t really hurt. “What’s this great sight we absolutely have to see today anyway, Shun?”
Shunsui grins at his companion and puts his index finger over the white-haired man’s lips. “Shhhh, it’s a surprise, remember? Don’t want to ruin it, yeah?” he asks, using that smile again.
Jyuushirou’s cheeks begin to turn a little pink and he feels himself nod automatically.
Kyouraku beams and reaches down to take the other student’s hand. “Now c’mon. Just a bit further. You’re not tired, are you?” he questions suddenly, looking concerned.
Ukitake’s blush deepens ever so slightly and he shakes his head. “No…no, I’m alright.”
“Good. This way.”
They continue walking through the foliage, Shunsui leading them up one of seireitei’s many hills, brushing aside overgrowth with one hand while holding Ukitake’s in the other, eyes bright with anticipation.
A little while later they reach the top and detour into the brush itself, Kyouraku taking them to a small ledge beside a magnificent waterfall. The lake below is huge and beautiful, water so clear Jyuushirou can see to the very bottom.
The white-haired boy takes a deep breath, releasing Kyouraku’s hand to clamor a bit closer to the edge. “Oh Shun, it’s…”
He trails off when he sees figures gathered on one side of the lake, laughing and splashing around in the crystal waters below.
“Beautiful, right?” Shunsui finishes for him, his voice dreamy as he takes a seat on the rock ledge.
Ukitake squints to get a closer look at the group of people. “Oh my.”
“I’ll say. An inspiring sight, ne, Jyuu-chan? The ladies’ swim club only practices like this on Tuesday afternoons, so you see why we had to skip lessons today,” Kyouraku explains easily, chest puffing up as he looks down form their vantage point to the young women swimming around below.
Ukitake blinks.
And then announces, “I’m leaving.”
“What? Already? Why? Jyuu-chan…oi…wait, what’s the matter? Jyuu-chan!”
As he leaves, Jyuushirou thinks that maybe Shunsui is following the example the third-years set a little too closely.
END
EDITS PLEASE.
245.
Title: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Character/s: YoruichixSoi Fong (ish)
Word Count: 574
Warning/s: Spoilers for the Soul Society arc.
Summary: Yoruichi doesn’t know what to say.
Dedication: John- For being my bitch in the kitchen and makin’ me paaaancakes. I RUB YOU. Alex, your yuri is coming. Kuukaku is a bit harder. -_-;;
A/N: A little sappy? Maybe. I’m not good with Yuri, obviously. O.o
What do you say after a hundred years gone?
Yoruichi looks at the girl she left behind more than a century ago and doesn’t know what to say now that everything is quiet between them. Before, when it had only been fighting and posturing and big words, she’d known how to respond to each of Soi Fong’s little barbs, her arrogance and her anger, her betrayal.
But there’s something infinitely more complicated in trying to understand someone instead of kill them, and as the two of them sit here in silence and lick the wounds from their previous fight, neither of them seems to know what to do next.
Yoruichi watches Soi Fong bandage her own arm, head bent downward, glaring helplessly as the white cloth wraps around bruised and broken skin, her movements jerky and just the slightest bit unsure.
And Yoruichi finds herself searching her mind for something to say, something that will explain why she left without a word or warning, why she hadn’t returned, why she’d given up everything the moment Kisuke had asked her to.
But words don’t come that easily, and she finds herself longing for the time long past, when words were no longer needed between the two of them, when she could just reach out with a hand and touch Soi Fong’s shoulder, when she could smile and kiss the other woman’s forehead and have those gestures communicate everything she ever wanted to say.
But they’re a hundred years beyond that now, and Yoruichi knows she’s at least that many years late in saying what she should’ve said before she’d disappeared without a word, without a trace.
She can’t help but wish that they could go back, just like that, to those soft touches and fond smiles, when the only voices they’d used were secret sighs and phantom whispers in each other’s ears and nothing else was needed to tell Soi Fong what she was thinking or how she felt.
It’s ridiculous because she feels like she’s suddenly a child all over again, despite her age, standing here staring while her former subordinate silently wraps herself in strips of white, neither of them able to say what they feel because they’re a hundred years too late, ten thousand invisible steps behind each other both at the same time.
So she stands silently by and watches Soi Fong wrap her arm, awkward and angry as she grips the end of the bandage between her teeth and tries to tie it off, pulling too fast and too hard and making the top wrench tightly while the bottom begins to unravel.
Suddenly she finds herself by the younger shinigami’s side, an instinctual step forward before she knows what she’s doing. She grasps the end of the bandage in one hand and looks into Soi Fong’s startled eyes before smiling and shaking her head at her former subordinate, allowing herself to chuckle a little at the absurdity of it all.
“Here. Let me.”
Soi Fong blinks at her and then frowns, looking purposefully away as two pink spots blossom unbidden on her pale cheeks.
“…very well.”
Yoruichi wraps the bandage for the younger woman gently, her fingertips working quickly and neatly, pausing to linger ever so slightly on bruised white skin as she finishes, saying everything she can in that one tentative touch.
When she feels Soi Fong shudder almost imperceptibly in response, she smiles to herself.
It’s a start.
END
246.
Title: Shafted
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Character/s: Shuuhei, Kira, Hinamori, Soi Fong
Word Count: 843
Warning/s: Spoilers for the Soul Society arc
Summary: The shafted three brood.
Dedication: lune_etsoleil- I totally owe you don’t I? But duuude, give me a specific request because I seriously don’t know what you’d want. Or c’mon, at least a list of favorites. XD
A/N: Argh I started out with the intention of writing something funny, but all I got was weird serious stuff and obviously, I SUCK at this. -_-;;
They get together sometimes, just when they’re too sad or too tired or too fed up with everything to get anything else done.
They get together and they sit and they don’t really talk, sipping drinks and sighing back and forth between one another, those soft sounds all the understanding and sympathy they need.
Kira’s not allowed to have alcohol anymore, and Shuuhei makes sure his kouhai remembers that, giving him milk or juice or warm cocoa to drink instead.
Hinamori cries sometimes, and Hisagi brings two handkerchiefs incase she does, one for her to wipe her eyes with and one for her to blow her nose on, because using the same one for both is kind of gross.
He doesn’t know why, but taking care of his two former underclassmen does something to ease his own pain. It might be petty, but he thinks it’s because he knows for certain that they are suffering more than he is, knows that despite Kaname’s betrayal, Tousen was not a captain who deliberately sought his subordinates’ heartstrings and tangled them around his own designs.
Shuuhei supposes that Ichimaru and Aizen were.
All in all, the three of them make a rather pathetic sight, sitting together sipping their drinks and sighing to themselves because they just don’t know what else to do.
No one else knows what to do either.
There’s something about trying to help that feels muted and unsuccessful, though Iba has tried, though Renji has tried, though even Ikkaku has put in an attempt or two.
But it falls flat in the face of everything, because what matters in the end is the fact that none of their captains betrayed them.
Stern Komamura-taichou, cold Kuchiki-taichou, fearsome Zaraki-taichou-though they may not seem to be, are infinitely kinder than smiling Ichimaru-taichou, than gentle Aizen-taichou and honorable Tousen-taichou.
They have not left their subordinates behind.
And so no one else can really understand them but themselves, and Kira and Shuuhei and Hinamori get together sometimes and sit in silence, thinking beside one another and sighing because there’s nothing left to say.
They feel as though no one else understands them.
And then one day Soi Fong-taichou storms into their circle of misery and kicks over Kira’s cocoa, telling him to grow a backbone. She scowls at Hinamori to cease her incessant crying and demands that Shuuhei stop coddling the both of them simply because it makes him feel better.
Hisagi frowns back and begs her pardon, telling her that she can’t possibly understand what they’ve been through and that she shouldn’t be so harsh on any of them.
Her eyes glint dangerously and he braces himself to be attacked by the second division leader while Kira and Hinamori look on with wide, frightened eyes.
“My leader left me once too.”
Shuuhei blinks when the small captain says that, her eyes looking away from the group for a brief moment. “I understand.”
And then they remember that she does.
Another silence falls over the group and Soi Fong scoffs before sitting down at their epicenter, cross-legged and frowning at the lot of them.
And for a moment afterwards, Hinamori is too puzzled to sniff and Kira is too bewildered to sigh.
Even Shuuhei is too busy anticipating to pay either of them very much attention.
After a beat, Soi Fong lets out a little breath and says, “Become stronger. Learn to believe in yourselves. That’s all you can do.”
Her tone is clipped and cool, though Shuuhei senses something below the surface there that makes him believe her simple solution more than any of the numerous others he’s heard from others over the past few weeks.
A minute ticks by and then tentatively, Kira raises a hand and begins to ask, “But how do...”
“Just do it,” the captain responds, resting her chin in the palm of one hand and regarding the blonde calmly.
“But…but… Soi Fong-taichou’s leader came back,” Hinamori accuses softly, torn between anger and more tears.
The other girl quirks a brow, expression fathomless. “Then even more, should you all ready yourselves. In case yours do too.”
The multitude of implications suggested by that statement is not lost on any of them.
It makes for a heavier, unhappier atmosphere, but each of the three vice-captains are thinking now of what the possibility of that day may one day mean for all of them.
Soi Fong watches them all for a moment longer, before she snorts derisively to herself before disappearing from sight. “That day will come,” are the final words she leaves them with.
And then she is gone in a gust of wind, leaving the three of them sitting there, alone and silent once again.
After a moment, Shuuhei stands and prepares to leave.
“S-senpai? Where are you going?” Kira asks, nervously.
The ninth division vice-captain pauses to take a deep breath, looking at the sky. “To train.”
He leaves without looking back, and hopes that one day soon, the other two will be able to join him.
They have much to prepare for.
END
247.
Title: Stolen
Rating: PG
Pairing/Character/s: Matsumoto, Hitsugaya (MatsumotoxHitsugaya-ish, but mostly playful)
Word Count: 436
Warning/s: No spoilers, but um, a sort-of-but-not-really shota-ish situation? O.o
Summary: Matsumoto steals something from Toushirou.
Dedication: lune_etsoleil again because LOOK AT THE PRETTY LAYOUT. ^^
A/N: I will probably forever be indebted to the likes of antiparallel and lune_etsoleil, but seriously, I sell my soul for icons, layouts, and fanart. I ARE A WHORE.
She laughs at him when he flushes slightly and tells her very matter-of-factly that no, he’s never been kissed before, but really, what does that have to do with anything in the first place?
She grins at him and simply replies that it explains everything. He thinks that he resents whatever she’s implying when she says that, though he’s not sure what it is, exactly.
So he responds by telling her that not everyone has the sort of time to go around seeking that kind of thing out, and what’s the big deal anyway? It looks messy and awkward, and on top of all of that, possibly bad-tasting and slobberful.
Her eyes glint as he says that and she rests one hand on her hip, looking down at him like she knows something he doesn’t know. It immediately sets him on edge, because whenever she gets that look on her face it means something will inevitably happen to him.
She bends down then, so that they’re eye to eye, that insufferable expression still on her face, that hand still on her hip. “Ne, taichou,” she starts, obviously highly amused by his paranoia.
“…what?” he asks, both wary and resentful of her uncalled-for smugness at the same time.
“I’m gonna steal it then, ‘kay?”
He blinks, but before he can demand what she wants to steal exactly, she’s leaning forward and touching her lips to his.
They’re there and gone again in less than a breath, just an infinitesimal touch shared between the two of them. But even still, it’s enough to make his mind completely shut off.
When she pulls back, she bursts out laughing at his expression, unable to help herself when she reaches forward to pinch his cheeks and ruffle his hair, exclaiming, “Ah, taichou is so cute!” to herself before sauntering off, hips swaying, hair flowing and eyes sparkling-all things he doesn’t remember ever noticing before.
He doesn’t even have the ability to muster up an indignant reply for the ‘cute’ crack.
And as she disappears around the corner of the corridor, he suddenly remembers to shut his gaping mouth, closing it with a snap as he feels his cheeks turning bright red.
He doesn’t know whether he’s more outraged or bewildered, but as he stands there alone in the division headquarters hallway, he puts one hand over his much abused mouth and furrows his brow thoughtfully.
He’ll definitely get her back for that later, but for now, he thinks he’s at least mature enough to admit that he might have been a little wrong.
It wasn’t all that bad-tasting after all.
END
248.
Title: For Your Viewing Pleasure
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Character/s: KyourakuxUkitake (ish)
Word Count: 522
Warning/s: No real spoilers, just some for the Kyouraku and Ukitake back story.
Summary: Academy days fic- Kyouraku and Ukitake cut class.
Dedication: another request by lune_etsoleil that I just can’t say no to. XD KyoxUki LURVE. <3
A/N: Kyouraku is suave. But also an idiot. And that’s why I love him. ^^y
“He’ll catch us!”
“Yama-jii? He’s probably fallen asleep in his chair,” Kyouraku replies calmly, smiling that charm-filled seducer smile of his at Ukitake as he does. Jyuushirou thinks it’s an unfair use of superior weapons, and sighing in a long-suffering manner, continues to follow Shunsui anyway.
“We shouldn’t be skipping class,’ he adds just for adding’s sake, voice low and worried as he looks over his shoulder. “What kind of example are we setting for the first-years?”
“The same example the third-years set for us,” Shunsui responds simply. “Now Jyuu-chan, no harm done, really, right? You know the stuff we were gonna learn today backwards and forwards already, I’ll bet.”
Ukitake does, but that isn’t the point. Well, not really. They are light years ahead of the rest of their class most of the time, but that’s still no excuse to cut lessons simply because they already know them.
Shunsui grins and raps him gently on the head. “Stay with me, na, Jyuu-chan? Almost there, I promise.”
Jyuushirou frowns and holds the spot on the crown of his head where his friend hit, though it doesn’t really hurt. “What’s this great sight we absolutely have to see today anyway, Shun?”
Shunsui grins at his companion and puts his index finger over the white-haired man’s lips. “Shhhh, it’s a surprise, remember? Don’t want to ruin it, yeah?” he asks, using that smile again.
Jyuushirou’s cheeks begin to turn a little pink and he feels himself nod automatically.
Kyouraku beams and reaches down to take the other student’s hand. “Now c’mon. Just a bit further. You’re not tired, are you?” he questions suddenly, looking concerned.
Ukitake’s blush deepens ever so slightly and he shakes his head. “No…no, I’m alright.”
“Good. This way.”
They continue walking through the foliage, Shunsui leading them up one of seireitei’s many hills, brushing aside overgrowth with one hand while holding Ukitake’s in the other, eyes bright with anticipation.
A little while later they reach the top and detour into the brush itself, Kyouraku taking them to a small ledge beside a magnificent waterfall. The lake below is huge and beautiful, water so clear Jyuushirou can see to the very bottom.
The white-haired boy takes a deep breath, releasing Kyouraku’s hand to clamor a bit closer to the edge. “Oh Shun, it’s…”
He trails off when he sees figures gathered on one side of the lake, laughing and splashing around in the crystal waters below.
“Beautiful, right?” Shunsui finishes for him, his voice dreamy as he takes a seat on the rock ledge.
Ukitake squints to get a closer look at the group of people. “Oh my.”
“I’ll say. An inspiring sight, ne, Jyuu-chan? The ladies’ swim club only practices like this on Tuesday afternoons, so you see why we had to skip lessons today,” Kyouraku explains easily, chest puffing up as he looks down form their vantage point to the young women swimming around below.
Ukitake blinks.
And then announces, “I’m leaving.”
“What? Already? Why? Jyuu-chan…oi…wait, what’s the matter? Jyuu-chan!”
As he leaves, Jyuushirou thinks that maybe Shunsui is following the example the third-years set a little too closely.
END
EDITS PLEASE.